Michele Alboreto facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michele Alboreto
Alboreto in 1987, driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
Born	(1956-12-23)23 December 1956 Milan, Italy
Died	25 April 2001(2001-04-25) (aged 44) EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Germany
Formula One World Championship career Nationality Italian Active years 1981–1994 Teams Tyrrell, Ferrari, Larrousse, Arrows, Footwork, Scuderia Italia, Minardi Entries 215 (194 starts) Championships 0 Wins 5 Podiums 23 Career points 186.5 Pole positions 2 Fastest laps 5 First entry 1981 San Marino Grand Prix First win 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix Last win 1985 German Grand Prix Last entry 1994 Australian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 1981–1983, 1996–2000 Teams Martini Racing, Joest Racing, Porsche AG, Audi Sport Team Joest Best finish 1st (1997) Class wins 1 (1997)

Michele Alboreto (born December 23, 1956 – died April 25, 2001) was a famous Italian racing driver. He was known for his exciting career in Formula One, where he raced for many teams, including Ferrari. Michele also won big sports car races like the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2001 12 Hours of Sebring. He was a runner-up in the 1985 Formula One World Championship.

Michele started his racing journey in 1976 with a car he and his friends built. He quickly moved up through different racing series. His success in Formula Three led him to join the Tyrrell team in Formula One in 1981.

Racing Career Highlights

Early Days in Racing (1976–1981)

Michele Alboreto began his racing career in 1976 in a series called Formula Monza. He raced a car called the "CMR," which he and his friends had built. The car wasn't very fast, so in 1978, Michele switched to Formula Italia. There, he started winning races.

Two years later, Alboreto moved to Formula Three. He raced a March-Toyota car in both the European and Italian championships. In his first year, he finished well, with three wins in the Italian series. In 1980, he won the European Formula Three title and finished third in the Italian championship. He had five wins that year, which helped him get noticed for Formula One.

His success also led him to Formula Two, a step before Formula One. He won one race with the Minardi team in 1981.

Sports Car Racing (1980–1983)

Even while racing open-wheel cars, Michele Alboreto also competed in sports car races. He joined the Lancia team for the World Championship for Makes. In 1980, he finished second three times.

In 1981, he raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time. He finished eighth overall and second in his class, which was great for Lancia. He also got his first win in the championship at the Six Hours of Watkins Glen.

More success came in 1982 when Lancia introduced a new car, the Lancia LC1. Michele won three races that year, including the 1000 km of Silverstone and the 1000 km of the Nürburgring. He finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship. In 1983, Lancia changed cars again, but Michele decided to focus more on his Formula One career.

A Lancia LC1 which Alboreto drove to three victories during the 1982 World Endurance Championship.

Formula One Journey

Starting with Tyrrell (1981–1983)

At 24 years old, Michele Alboreto made his Formula One debut in 1981. He joined the Tyrrell team. His first race, the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix, ended early due to a crash. He didn't score any points in his first year.

The 1982 season was much better. Michele earned his first podium finish at Imola. At the very last race in Las Vegas, he won his first Grand Prix! He was the last person to win at that track. He finished eighth overall that year.

In 1983, he won another race in Detroit. This was a special win because it was the last victory for a non-turbocharged car until 1989. Even with this win, he didn't score points often. He finished twelfth overall. After this, it was announced that Michele would join the famous Ferrari team. He was the first Italian driver to race for Ferrari in over ten years.

The Tyrrell 011 used by Alboreto during the 1982 and 1983 seasons, a car which helped the Italian win the 1982 Las Vegas Grand Prix and the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix.

Alboreto driving for Tyrrell at the 1981 Dutch Grand Prix.

Driving for Ferrari (1984–1988)

In his first year with Ferrari in 1984, Michele won the third race in Zolder. This made him the first Italian to win a Formula One race for Ferrari since 1966. He also finished on the podium three more times. He ended the 1984 season in fourth place.

Alboreto at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix. He had to stop racing early in this event.

The 1985 season was Michele's best in Formula One. He won two races: the Canadian Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix. He was leading the championship for a while. However, his Ferrari car had many mechanical problems towards the end of the season. He couldn't finish the last five races due to these issues. He ended up finishing second in the championship, 20 points behind Alain Prost. Many people thought Ferrari's car problems cost him the championship.

Alboreto at the 1985 German Grand Prix. He won this race, beating Alain Prost.

The next three seasons (1986-1988) were not as successful for Michele with Ferrari. The new Ferrari cars were slower and less reliable. In 1986, he retired from nine races due to mechanical failures. In 1987, Gerhard Berger joined Ferrari and became the team's top driver. Michele still got some podium finishes.

The 1988 season was his last with Ferrari. The McLaren team was very strong that year. Ferrari only won one race, which Berger won with Michele finishing second. Ferrari decided not to offer Michele a new contract. He looked for other teams, even considering retiring.

Alboreto driving for Ferrari in his last season with the team, at the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix.

Later Formula One Years (1989–1994)

In 1989, Michele returned to his old team, Tyrrell. He even got a third-place finish in Mexico. However, he had a disagreement with the team boss, Ken Tyrrell, over sponsors. Michele had a personal sponsorship with Marlboro, but Tyrrell wanted him to switch to Camel. When Michele refused, he was replaced by Jean Alesi.

After losing his Marlboro sponsorship, Michele joined the French Larrousse team. He didn't score any points for them that season. He even broke two ribs during qualifying for the 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix.

From 1990 to 1992, Michele raced for the Footwork team. These years were tough, and he didn't score points in 1990 or 1991. In 1992, the team got new Honda engines, and Michele scored six points, finishing tenth overall.

In 1993, he joined Scuderia Italia. The team switched to Lola cars, which were not competitive. Michele struggled and often failed to qualify for races. Scuderia Italia later joined forces with Minardi for the 1994 season.

The Minardi cars in 1994 were also not very good. Michele had many retirements. His only point came from a sixth-place finish in Monaco. At the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, a wheel came off his car after a pit stop, injuring several mechanics. At the end of 1994, Michele decided to retire from Formula One. He had competed in 194 races and won five Grand Prix events.

Alboreto driving for Minardi at the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix.

Life After Formula One (1995–2001)

After leaving Formula One, Michele Alboreto raced in other types of motorsport. In 1995, he competed in the German Touring Car Championship for Alfa Romeo. He also raced in sports car events with Ferrari.

In 1996, he returned to open-wheel racing in the American Indy Racing League (IRL). He finished fourth in his first race. He also raced sports prototypes with a Ferrari 333 SP. In 1996, he raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours but had to retire early.

In 1997, Michele achieved a podium finish in the IRL, coming third in New Hampshire. He also won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans with teammates Stefan Johansson and Tom Kristensen. This was a major victory for him in sports car racing. He continued to race at Le Mans, finishing fourth in 1999 and third in 2000 with Audi. He also won the 2000 Petit Le Mans and the 2001 Sebring 12 Hours.

Tragic Passing

An Audi R8 as it appeared in 2001. Michele Alboreto was testing a similar car when he passed away.

In April 2001, just a month after his Sebring victory, Michele Alboreto was testing an Audi R8 race car. He was at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz track in Germany. While driving at about 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph), his left rear tire failed. The car crashed, and Michele passed away instantly.

An investigation found that the tire failed because a loose screw had slowly caused air to leak out. There was no mechanical problem with the car or error by Michele. This sad event led Audi to quickly add new tire-pressure monitoring systems to their race cars to prevent similar accidents.

Michele's passing was a great loss to his family and friends.

His Legacy

Years later, fellow Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella dedicated his podium finish at the 2005 Italian Grand Prix to Michele Alboreto. He said Michele was a "great person, really special."

In 2021, a corner at the famous Monza race track in Italy was officially renamed the Curva Alboreto. This was done to honor Michele 20 years after his passing.

His Helmet Design

Michele Alboreto's racing helmet was blue with a yellow stripe that had white edges down the middle. These colors were a special tribute to Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson. Peterson's helmet also used these colors, which represent the Swedish flag. Michele and Ronnie became friends in 1972 and remained close until Ronnie's passing in 1978.

Career Summary

Images for kids

• 

  An Audi R8 as it appeared in 2001. Michele Alboreto was testing a similar car when he passed away.

See also

In Spanish: Michele Alboreto para niños